The national carrier, Kenya Airways (KQ), today, on their Facebook page, officially announced that all passengers flying with them will now require to show some form of photo identification before boarding their aircraft. This, they said, applies during check-in or at boarding.

The airline’s Chief Operations Officer and acting CEO, Mbuvi Ngunze, said this was part of their new security programme approved by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and conforms to existing regulations spelt out in the civil aviation industry guidelines.

He said that Kenya Airways operates in a highly regulated industry and in the context of the prevailing security environment, these measures become more imperative. These requirements are clearly posted at all the passenger-accessible areas at all airports and KQ is not bending any rules as Moses Wetangula found out yesterday evening on Thursday.

Wetangula was denied entry into a Mombasa-bound Kenya Airways flight that had to be delayed for several hours after KQ crew insisted that the senator had to produce a national ID card which he clearly did not have. Passengers on the Mombasa-bound flight ended up having to board a different plane to avoid further inconveniences.

Next time you are flying on board the Pride of Africa, ensure you carry some form of visual ID to prove it is actually you and not someone else masquerading as you that is travelling!

This, by the way, is not a KQ thing but a new requirement all airlines around the world are now required to conform to following a rise in cases of terrorism globally. KQ has kick-started the new culture way ahead of most airlines.

So just have your national ID with you, at the least, when travelling with KQ to avoid a Wetangula incident. But if you are a Kenyan, that will not be a problem. We always have our IDs with us!